Street-sweeping machine



April 21, 1925.

J. C. LUNDY STREET SWEEPING momma Filed Jan. 30, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l mvam GB. ,0.

April 21, 1925. 1,534,233

J. C. LUNDY STREET SWEEPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 30. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jinn m INVE'NTEJB Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

i 3 UNITED STATES PATENT o FFrce.

JOHN C. LUNDY; or BRANTFORD, oN'rAR-Io, cANAnA, ASSIGNOR, IBY' DIRECT'AND MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, or THREE-FIFTEENTHS TO ELIAS E. SLAGHT nnemarie- IIrrEENTrrs 'ro s'AMUEL'L. saunas, BOTH or TORONTO, ONTARIO, cA AnA, AfND FOUR-FIFTEENTHS TO WILLIAM H; HAMMOND, or BR-ANTFORI); oNrArtroyoA- NAnA;

STREET-SWEEPING' MAGEINE."

Application field January 30, 1922. serial'No. 532396 5 invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweeping Machines, of

which the following is aspecification.

This inventionrelates to sweeping machines of the type in which the dirt swept 10 up is elevated and deposited in a receptacle carried by the machine and in which the dust raised at the point of sweeping is sucked away and separated from the air carrying it in suitable dust collecting apparatus, and

myobject is to deviseapparatus of this type which will be simple in construction, effective in operation and of very light weight relative to its capacity.

I attain my object by means of the constru'ctions hereinafter described and illus trated in the accompanying drawings in which- J Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section,of my improved street sweeping apparatujs;v 1

Fig. 2 a plan view of the same, partly broken away and partly in section;

. Fig. 3 a similar View showing'more particularly parts abovethe level of the parts shown in-Fig. 2;

Fig. 4a detail in side elevation and partly in section showing the means for counterbalanoing the weight of the cylindrical brush and its hood; and

Fig. 5 a longitudinal section ofpart of the hood and brush showing more particularly the means for mounting the brush in the hood.

In the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

l is an automobile chassis built in general on well known'lines and provided at its forward end with a motor 2 of ordinary type. The "chassis isprovided with the rear driving wheels 3 and'the forward steering wheels 4, the frame of the chassis being mounted on the wheels in any suitable well known manner. I

5 is the engine shaft which, through the medium of the ordinary well (known change speed transmission 6, actuates a propeller shaft 7 :of rordinary type which drives the rear- Wheels throxigh any differ entialgear. I

Mounted on formed as a dirt chamber 9, the forward part forming what may be termed a dust chamber 10 which is incommunication with the upper opening of the hood ll surround ing the cylindrical rotary brush 12; This rotary brush is provided with a s'ha ft- 13;: the ends of, which are journalled in-rolle r;

bearings l'connected with the end s of the hood. 19 The hood is formed substantially-concentrio with the cylindrical surface of the brush and extends from a point close tothe lower sideof the brushto a point adjacent the upper side of the brush, the, upper partibe ing extended rearwardly sufficiently so that the brush, which sweeps forwardly, will properly discharge the dirt swept upon to the elevator, which is located behind the the chassis: is I the sweeper casing 8, the rearward part of which is" brush and which is hereinafter moremsp'e I cifically described. A

This hood is supported :sothat it r nay float relative to the frame of the apparatuiir so that the brush and hoodmay reai 'lyaca the street surfaced lVh-ile various meansmight be employed for this purposathe Earrangement shown particularly in Figs,- 1

and 2 of the drawings satisfactorilyattains "the desired result. A pair of forwancllylex;-

tending links 15 are pivotallyeonnected with the front axle .16 of the chassis and the front of the hood; Rearwandly extending links 17 are pivotally connectedrwith the ends of the hood'and the frame of the iohas sis. It will be noted that the pivot points of the rearwardly extending links are above the level-of the points of connection of the forwardly extending links with-the hood,

so that the hood may rise and fall'freelytithe hood merely rocking slightly to vaccommocommodate themselves to, irregularities in date itself to the varying distances between} vent side sway of the hood and maintain it in proper position transversely of the lap: *gparatus, I .find= it deem-blame protwideuone with the bearing 14 of the brush.

or more diagonal braces 18 each of which is pivotally connected with the front axle and extends diagonally rearwardly to a suitable point of connection with the forward side of the hood.

'The fact that the cylindrical brush is vertically .movable relative to the chassis necessitates the provision of special means for effecting its drive. On the frame of the chassis is journalled a shaft 19. At each side of the apparatus is provided a link 20. These links are pivoted concentric with the axis of the shaft 19 and the shaft 13 of the rotary brush. On the shaft 19 is secured a sprocket wheel 21, and on the shaft 13 of the brush is secured a sprocket wheel 22. On the frame of the chassis is journalled an idler sprocket 23. On the chassis is journalled a transverse shaft 24 to which is secured a sprocket wheel 25. A sprocket chain 26 passes round the sprocket wheels 21, 22, 23 and 25. Thus if the shaft 24 be driven the cylindrical brush will be rotated, and the proper drive of the brush will not in any way be afl'ected by its rise and fall.

In order that there shall not be too much weight on the bristles of the rotary brush and in-order that the pressure thereon may be adjusted as may be necessary, I provide the following counterbalancing mechanism.

At each side ofthe apparatus is provided an upwardly extending link 5%, which is pivotally connected with the hood and brush preferably by being pivotally connected The upper end of this link has an eye 58 formed therein embracing one end of a suitably fulcrumed counterbalancing lever 55, to the other end of which is secured a weight 56. A screw 57 passes through alug on the counterbalancing lever and is threaded through the upper end of the eye 58 of the link. Lock nuts 59 are provided on the screw engaging the lug on the link. By suitably adjusting these screws, the eyes may be set closer to or further from the fulcrums as may be desired, thus varying the effect of the counterbalancing weights.

The elevator hereinbefore referred to comprises an apron 27 terminating at its lower end in a shallow trough 28'. Over this apron operates an endless slat conveyor divided centrally for a reason which will hereafter appear. This conveyor comprises the slats 29 secured to sprocket chains 30 at their lower end passing round sprocket wheels 31 secured to the shaft 32, and at their upper ends passing round sprocket" wheels 33 secured to the shaft 34 which forms the driving shaft. The conveyor being divided centrally, four chains 30 are required. The reason for the division is that the propeller shaft '7 extends rearwardly through the apron 27 so that the elevatormust necessarily be divided to opcrate on either side of the propeller shaft. By adopting this arrangement I am enabled to retain the rear drive of the chassis, thus avoiding the expensive constructions which have been found necessary in some sweepers where a front wheel drive has been employed.

The apron 27 extends to the top of the sloping front 35 of the dirt chamber 9. The dirt chamber is provided with a well 36 at its bottom which is closed by the downwardly opening hinged doors 37 which are normally locked with any suitable releasable locking mechanism so that the collected dirt may be dumped whenever necessary.

To drive the elevator I provide a sprocket wheel 51 011 the transverse shaft 24and a sprocket wheel 52 on the shaft 34 of the endless conveyor. These sprocket wheels are connected by a crossed sprocket chain 53 so that the conveyor moves in the proper direction.

The dust laden air from the dust chamber is drawn into the eye of a suction fan a 38, the casing of which is suitably supported within the dust chamber. of the frame has a pulley 40 secured to its spindle which is driven by a suitable belt from the pulley 41 on the rear end of a conveyor shaft 42 arranged and driven as hereinafter described. This suction "fan serves to maintain a gentle flow of air inwardly at the point of sweeping and "at other points where dust might escape and become a nuisance.

The dust is separated from the air in the manner and by the means I will now describe. A water tank 43 is supported within the casing 8 and from this tank leads a pipe 44: which extends through the eye of the fan to a point close to and above the The rotor 39 hub of the motor of the fan. A constant fan leads into the upper part of the tank above the water level therein andthe arrangement is such that the air laden-with moistened dust passes over the surface of llil the water in the tank. The result is that the moistened dust or mud falls into the water and accumulates as a sludge at the bottom of the tank, the water in the. upper part of the tank being at all times sufliciently clear for use in the fan as hereinbefore described. f V

In the preferred arrangement the partition 46 extends downwardly from the top.

of the casing 8 close to the surface ofthe water in the tank and the dischargepipe 45 has its mouth so directed as to discharge against this partition. The momentum of the moistened dust is thus stopped and .it

drops into the tank, "the air passing under the partition and. out through theair com duit 4:7 'to the atmosphere. A

The counters-heft 42 extends longitudinally of the apparatus substantially parallel to the engine shaft 5 from which it is driven by means oft-he spur gearing 48. The countershaft is divided, the parts being connected by a clutch 49 which may be of any of the usual types employed in automobile construction. The transverse shaft 24 is driven from the rear part of this counters'haft by means of the bevel gearing 50. Evidently then when the clutch 4:9 is thrown in, the brush, elevator and dust collector fan are all suitably driven, and when the clutch is thrown out, the operation of the machine stops.

The forward speed of the apparatus may be varied by means of the change speed gearing 6 according as street conditions throw more or less work on the sweeping apparatus.

As the brush and hood are always concentric with one another, and as the bristles are subject to wear, I find it highly desirable to provide means for adjusting the hood and the curved periphery of the brush relative to one another to compensate for this wear. The preferred method is to form the brush in sections radially adjustable relative to the shaft. I therefore divide the wooden back 60 of the brush longitudinally into a plurality of sections, preferably four, and provide adjustment screws 61 which are passed through these sections at each end and elsewhere if necessary and which are threaded into suitable heads carried by the shaft. Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 it will be noted that the screws 61 for each pair of oppositely directed brush sections are located at opposite sides of the brush shaft 13 and are arranged parallel to one another. The adjusting screws for the other pair of brush sections are threaded in the head 60 at substantially right angles to the adjusting screws for the first mentioned pair of sections. By unscrewing these screws the sections of the brush head are left free to move outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force and thus bring their bristle ends closer to the inner curved surface of the hood. From time to time these screws are adjusted so as to maintain the desired relationship between the ends of the bristles and the hood. The brush may thus always be maintained in perfect working relationship with the hood.

hat I claim as my invention is 1. In street sweeping apparatus, the combination of a cylindrical brush; a hood therefor having ends in which the brush is journalled; forwardly extending links pivotally connected to the hood and the frame of the machine; and rearwardly extending links pivotally connected to the frame and to the hood at oints ads the points/of bination of a cylindrical brush; a hood therefor having ends in which th'e brush is journalled; forwardly extending links piw ota'lly connected 'to the hood "and the frame of the machine; rearwardly extending links pivotally connected to the frame and to the hood at points above the points of connection of the forwardly extending links; and a diagonal approximately horizontal link pivotally connected to the hood and the frame of the machine and adapted to prevent side sway of the hood.

3. In street sweeping apparatus, the combination of a chassis; a brush hood floatingly supported on the chassis; a brush journalled in the ends of the hood; a shaft journalled 011 the chassis; a sprocket wheel secured thereto; a sprocket wheel secured to the brush journal; a sprocket chain connecting said sprocket wheels; pivoted links adapted to maintain a substantially constant distance between the axes of the shaft and the brush; and a diagonal approximately horizontal link pivotally connected to the hood and the frame of the machine and adapted to prevent side sway of the hood.

4. In street sweeping apparatus. the combination of a chassis; a brush hood floatingly supported on the chassis; a brush journalled in the ends of the hood; a shaft journalled on the chassis; a sprocket wheel secured thereto; a sprocket wheel secured to the brush journal; a sprocket chain connecting said sprocket wheels; pivoted links adapted to maintain a substantially constant distance between the axes of the shaft and the brush; a diagonal approximately horizontal link pivotally connected to the hood and the frame of the machine and adapted to prevent side sway of the hood; and means for v counterbalancing the weight of the hood and brush.

5. In street sweeping apparatus, the combination of an automobile chassis provided with the usual motor at the forward end with its shaft extending longitudinally of the machine; a divided countershaft paraL lel with the motor shaft and geared thereto; a clutch whereby the parts of the counter shaft may be connected and disconnected; a transverse shaft geared to the countershaft; a cylindrical rotary sweeping brush; an elevator to which said brush discharges; a fan for drawing ofl dust laden air raised by the brush; sprocket gearing between the transverse shaft and the brush; sprocket gearing between the elevator and the transverse shaft; and driving means between the fan and the rearward part of the countershaft.

6. In street sweeping apparatus, the combination of a chassis provided with bearings floatingly supported thereon; a brush journalled in the said bearings; two counterof the said levers adjacent the lugs; and balancing levers fulcrumed one at each side adjusting screws extending through the said of the chassis, each lever being provided with lugs and threaded through the upper ends of l a weight at one side of the fulcrum and a the said links.

5 lug at the opposite side of the fulcrum; a Signed at Toronto, this 20th day of Janupair of links pivotally connected with the ary, 1922, bearings and adapted to embrace the ends J OHN C. LUNDY. 

